Fire
by legacymaster
Summary: Nickoli must search and find his ultimate opponent


Fire

Nickoli squinted into the late afternoon sun. Seeing nothing, he stood slowly and turned around, motioning for the others to move forward. Three men and a woman ran to his side. They also looked into the sky, looking for any sign of their enemy, but saw nothing. Nickoli walked another five or six meters forward, and then gazed around at his surroundings. What used to be beautiful hills and sweeping valleys were now no more than a smoldering pile of ash as far as the eye could see. Nickoli closed his eyes, trying to remember how it used to be. Lush valleys of green trees. A river flowing crystal clear through the valley. The chirping of birds had once been the dominant sound here. He opened his eyes again, and the memories washed away like water through cupped hands. Anna touched his arm.

"There's no sense crying over what has already been lost," she said calmly.

Nickoli nodded solemnly. "Yes, I know."

Jacob stepped up ahead of him and turned, looking at the other four. "Are we going to get this done or reminisce all afternoon?" he said. He cocked his ten gauge shotgun. "Let's move. We need to get there before nightfall."

The rest all nodded and followed him down the mountain. Nickoli slung his crossbow over his shoulder and picked up his quiver of arrows. One fell out as he was lifting them, and he reached out quickly to grab it. The arrow had a nitrous oxide head and a flint tip. If it were to have hit the hard rocks on the ground, he and his friends would have been turned into another pile of ash. Nickoli put it back into the quiver and shouldered it, then continued on behind Jacob.

"How loud are these things anyway?" asked the fourth man.

Nickoli turned looked back at Chris. "Quiet enough to sneak up on any black guy," he joked.

"Oh hell no! You're just messin' with me right?" Chris said quickly.

Nickoli shook his head. "They're quieter than a butterfly."

Chris glanced to the sides before taking another step. Nickoli chuckled to himself.

Once they had all gotten to the bottom of the hill, Jacob squatted down, and the rest followed suit. They were about to cross an open field. And in doing so, they would make themselves prime targets.

Nickoli looked carefully at the others, and then he focused on the ground, trying to think of an alternate plan. Crossing the field would seal their fate. _Damn_, he thought. _This is the only way across without backtracking ten miles. By then we would be too tired to do anything. We're tired enough as it is, not to mention hungry._ Nickoli stood, and walked slowly towards a large boulder, the last obstacle between them and the field. When he got behind it, he looked back at the others. They came up to him.

"We don't have a choice other than to run for it," Nickoli said quietly. "If they get us, they get us. There's no other way."

Jacob looked around the rock and strained to see if there was anything on the hill opposite them. Nothing. He looked behind them. Nothing. He stood up and walked in front of the boulder, preparing to run.

Nickoli reached out to grab him, but before he could, Jacob took off full tilt across the field.

"Jacob, no!" shouted Anna and Chris. But it was in vain. Before they knew what was happening, a large black shadow streaked over them towards Jacob. The three that were left heard, and then felt the rush of wind over them. Nickoli looked up to see what type it was, but he didn't see in time. Jumping from behind the rock, they saw Jacob running faster. He was more than halfway there now. Suddenly, a burst of flames erupted around Jacob, and he fell to the ground, forming another pile of ash on the ground. The large figure spun around and came towards them. Another burst of flames flew through the air, and Nickoli grabbed Anna and Chris and forced them to the ground. The flames flew over their heads, and Nickoli could fell his back begin to blister from the super intense heat. When the heat dissipated, Nickoli looked up, grabbed his two friends, and took off across the field. If only they could reach the hill before it came back for another attack. Adrenaline pumped through Nickoli's veins, giving him a seemingly super human speed. The other two struggled to keep up. The rocky outcropping was only another ten meters away. _Almost there_, Nickoli thought to himself. Six meters away. He could hear the flames blasting along just behind them. Three meters. They could fell the heat now.

At the last second before the flames reached them, they jumped into space. Seconds seemed like hours as they vaulted over the rock and down a small pit. The flames washed over the rock, singing their clothes and taking the oxygen from their lungs. After what seemed like an eternity, Nickoli felt himself hit the hard ground. His face was covered with sweat, and when he wiped it, he could taste blood.

"Oh my God! Nick look at your arm!"

Nickoli looked down at his arm. Blood seeped through his cotton cloak. He pulled the cloth back and saw the gaping wound. Looking quickly around told him what had given him the injury. A jagged and bloody rock jutted out of the ground right beside where he had fallen. Apparently his adrenaline was too high for him to notice the pain. He shook his head. The blood loss was causing him to get dizzy.

"Get me something quickly to wrap it up," he said. Anna took out her tanto and cut the belly of her shirt, then tore it all the way around. She came over to Nickoli and began wrapping his arm. Nickoli winced at she applied pressure.

"I have to. It slows the bleeding," she said. Nickoli nodded.

Chris was peeking over the rock, looking to see where their attacker had gone to. They never gave up this easily. Then he spotted its dark shape landing on the hill they had just left. Chris gripped his 1873 Mauser tighter. He had five bullets chambered, and ten more in his pocket. He took aim on his opponent and held it, in case it tried to make a move towards them. Nickoli watched him, his eyes watering from the pain in his arm. Now that he was calmed down, his sense of touch was coming back, and in full force. He could feel bruises from where he had landed on the rocks, and the pain in his arm was unimaginable. Trying to ignore all of this, he stood up, looking around the pit. _Perfect_, he thought.

"This is perfect. From here we can keep an eye on the enemy, and move forward at the same time. The stronghold is only another two or three minute walk from here. We need to hurry."

Anna nodded, and Chris waved one hand, not moving form his position.

"Anna, you go ahead. Chris you follow her. I will take the rear," Nickoli said.

Anna stood and walked cautiously through an opening behind them. Chris followed her, and Nickoli followed him. They kept their eyes on the target behind them, for that was their biggest threat at the moment. Nickoli remembered something someone told to him a long time ago. "Never turn your back on your enemy. They will bite you in the ass." Nickoli smiled at this, and continued on, still watching behind him.

"We're here," came a voice from up ahead.

Nickoli glanced up to where Anna was, and then ran ahead of Chris to see if they were in the right place. They were. It was an ancient castle, built during the hundred years war between England and France. A large courtyard separated them from the castle.

Nickoli took a step onto the hard brick of the road going through the courtyard. He took another step, walking cautiously. Then another. He was now fully in the open. He constantly looked around to make sure he wasn't attacked from the air unexpectedly.

Then a low rumble, not unlike thunder, came from the castle. Nickoli stopped, and brought his crossbow out form behind him. Loading an explosive arrow, he brought his aim directly ahead of him. The rumbling sound came again, this time shaking the ground. Nickoli walked sideways, off the road and onto the grass, then continued forward. Anna did the same, on the opposite side, and Chris began walking up the center, his rifle straight out in front of him. Then the rumbling stopped. Nickoli looked at Chris and Anna, who were both as confused as him. Before they could turn to face the castle again, the front walls exploded and a burst of flames shot out straight at Chris. Chris jumped and rolled onto the grass just in time, but he had dropped his rifle, which lay on the road burning due to its wooden stock. Chris stood and backed away, slowly at first, and then he turned to run. As soon as he did, all three of them were forced to the ground form a gigantic blast of wind. Chris stood quickly and ran as fast as he could away from the castle, but not fast enough. Nickoli faced the castle, and saw the size of his opponent. He stared at the creature he had wanted to destroy for so long. The great dragon beat its wings again, forcing Chris to the ground a second time. This time it took off and flew at Chris, swooping down on him, biting, and swallowing him in one graceful motion. It landed in front of them again and faced Anna. Anna back up, firing round after round from her two nine millimeter pistols. But the bullets merely ricocheted off. The dragon breathed in deeply, and unleashed its fiery hell at Anna. Anna turned and ran, but she wasn't fast enough. The flames engulfed her, sending her screaming to the ground.   
"That's it!" Nickoli stood, took aim, and fired. His explosive arrows hit the dragon in the face and exploded on impact, temporarily blinding the creature. In turn, it spat a wild fury of flames in Nickoli's direction. Nickoli rolled, then stood and ran towards a fountain in the center of the courtyard. He reached for another arrow, and found only normal arrows. Hearing a series of small explosions, he realized what had happened. They had fallen out when he rolled. _Damnit_. He glanced to his last position, and saw two unexploded arrows left. Setting a normal bolt, he came out form behind the fountain, and fired it randomly at the dragon. It hit it, but glanced off. The dragon didn't even feel it. Nickoli ran to the arrows, dropping to grab them, but another spurt of flames forced him to changed direction at the last second, causing him to grab only one. He quickly loaded it on the run, and took aim. The dragon, now able to see again, roared. Nickoli fired at its open mouth, but the dragon blew flames at it to destroy it before it hit him.

"Smart little-" Nickoli began, but was cut off by more flames coming at him. When he ran, he spotted the last arrow, surrounded by fire. "This should be interesting," he muttered aloud. Dodging another spurt of fire, he ran at the arrow. The dragon roared loudly, almost deafening Nickoli. Apparently he was pissing it off. Nickoli rolled though the flames and grabbed the arrow, loading it at once. The dragon breathed in deeply again, preparing to blast its inferno at Nickoli. As soon as it opened its mouth, Nickoli pulled the trigger.

"Blow this."

The arrow went into its mouth and stuck to the back of the dragon's throat. A split second later, it exploded, blowing the neck out and sending flames rippling through its entire body.

Nickoli fell to the ground, exhausted, once again feeling the adrenaline leaving him. He looked at the crossbow, and at the remaining normal arrows. "All these machine guns and high tech equipment, and I take out the biggest predator in the world with a crossbow," he said, shaking his head. Then, getting up, he looked at the burning remnants of his friends. He said a silent prayer and walked from the gruesome scene.

A small oval-shaped object rolled across the ground from under the burning carcass of the dragon. Moments later it cracked, and a small screech, barely audible through the crackling flames, erupted form inside.


End file.
